A breathing Darth Vader on the cover of film magazine Empire, a "Vote Dalek!" caption and image splashed on the Radio Times before the 2005 General Election, a naked and voluminous Beth Ditto posing for NME, and the first ever issue of The Face in 1980 also make the cut.

Princess Diana is seen in a Vogue tribute cover to her following her death and is pictured sitting on the floor smiling and wearing a flowing red dress.

The earliest magazine covers are Oz's first issue in 1967 and Nova in 1968.

Posh and Becks make the cut for the OK! cover of their wedding in 1999, while Moss is pictured on the cover of Vogue wearing a crown.

Vanity Fair is listed with a 1997 cover of Blur, Oasis, and Britpop fashion designers and artists, while Heat, Loaded, Time Out, Private Eye, and Take a Break are also in the shortlist.

Nicola Rowe of the Periodical Publishers Association said: "We wanted to find covers that in some way summed up an era or broke the mould, and these 16 are outstanding."